Chapter 59: Where the Road Pauses

By sunrise, the Ashfang Wolf was gone.

Its tracks remained.

Lin Yuan found them in the dust east of Central Blackstone, four uneven lines disappearing along the road. The injured rear leg had left a shallower mark than the others.

Whatever had frightened the beast, it had not stopped after passing Blackstone.

Lin Yuan crouched beside the tracks for a moment before standing.

He had no intention of following them.

Behind him, wagon wheels rolled across the market ground.

Blackstone was already waking.

The previous night’s tremor had been weak enough to leave the settlement untouched, but people remembered the wolf.

That part was harder to dismiss.

By breakfast, the story had spread through every occupied table in Wandering Cloud Tavern.

"It ran straight through?"

"Didn’t attack anyone."

"I heard it was wounded."

"It was."

"By what?"

Lin Yuan placed a bowl of noodles on the table.

"If anyone here knows, I’d also like to hear it."

The conversation stopped.

One traveler looked at him.

"You saw it?"

"Yes."

"What was chasing it?"

"Nothing that reached Blackstone."

That was all Lin Yuan could honestly say.

He returned to the kitchen.

Xiao Lan handed him another order.

"They’re going to ask you that all morning."

"I know."

"Maybe make another sign."

Lin Yuan looked at her.

She smiled.

"Just an idea."

"No more signs."

Su Mei passed the kitchen entrance carrying a teapot.

"Good."

Apparently he had lost that vote.

The morning rush continued.

What changed was the direction people were traveling.

Fewer wagons left west.

More arriving from that direction stopped longer than usual.

Some merchants wanted fresh information before continuing. Others had already decided to turn east.

By late morning, three westbound caravans were still waiting near the market instead of departing.

None had abandoned their journey.

They were simply waiting for someone else to go first.

Lin Yuan understood perfectly.

He would have done the same.

The next gathering was still several days away, yet Blackstone was already busier than it usually became between gatherings.

A familiar wagon appeared from the east shortly before noon.

Lin Yuan recognized Shen Lihua before it reached the settlement.

She rode beside the driver rather than inside, one hand shielding her eyes from the sun.

Another wagon followed behind hers.

Two cultivators rode with it beside several wooden chests and rolled pieces of cloth.

Shen Lihua climbed down near the market.

"You’ve become troublesome."

Lin Yuan looked around.

"I’ve been here the whole time."

"That’s the problem."

She pointed west.

"Half the association is talking about this road."

"Then the road should apologize."

"It refused."

"Unfortunate."

A man stepped down from the second wagon.

Lin Yuan recognized him too.

Wu Jian.

The Merchant Association representative had visited Blackstone before the first gathering.

Today, he barely looked at the market.

His attention went directly to the notice board.

He read both warnings before approaching.

"You felt a tremor here?"

"Two."

Wu Jian stopped.

"Two?"

"One the night before last. Another faint one last night."

Shen Lihua looked at Lin Yuan.

"You didn’t mention the second."

"You arrived before I had anyone to tell."

"Convenient."

Wu Jian ignored them.

"Any damage?"

"None in Blackstone."

"And the wolf?"

"Passed through last night. Ashfang Wolf. Injured rear leg. It kept running east."

"Did it attack?"

"No."

Wu Jian glanced around Central Blackstone.

The inn.

The tavern.

Qiao’s shop.

Duan He’s building.

The market ground.

The wagons waiting instead of continuing west.

"We’ll establish a temporary route station here."

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Why Blackstone?"

"Rooms, water, supplies, and travelers arriving from both directions."

Wu Jian looked toward the western road.

"Right now, information reaches this place faster than anywhere else along this stretch."

That made sense.

"What do you need?"

"A table, two people, and space beside your notice board."

"That’s all?"

"For now."

"What will you actually do?"

"We’ll collect reports from arriving caravans, compare them, and post the information we can confirm."

"You’re closing the road?"

"No."

Wu Jian shook his head.

"We don’t have the authority to shut a trade route because the ground moved."

"And if it gets worse?"

"Merchants will stop using it long before anyone needs to order them."

Lin Yuan looked toward the three waiting caravans.

That process had already begun.

"Use the space beside the notice board."

Wu Jian nodded.

"Good."

Shen Lihua looked between them.

"You’re not charging him?"

Wu Jian slowly turned toward her.

Lin Yuan considered it.

"Not today."

Wu Jian sighed.

"I liked you better when this place only had a tavern."

"You barely knew me."

"Exactly."

The route station was operating before lunch ended.

It was nothing elaborate.

Wu Jian’s people raised a cloth shade beside the notice board, placed a table underneath, and hung a small wooden Merchant Association emblem from one of the posts.

A few reports were pinned behind them.

One described the damaged road east of Red Cliff.

Another advised loaded wagons to cross during daylight and avoid the damaged section immediately after a tremor.

A third asked arriving travelers to give new information directly to the association table.

Lin Yuan approved of that one.

Within an hour, travelers who would normally have questioned him began walking toward Wu Jian instead.

That alone made the arrangement useful.

Qiao stood beside Lin Yuan outside the tavern.

"They’re stealing your job."

"I didn’t want the job."

"Still stealing it."

"They can keep it."

Qiao considered that.

"Fair."

The station quickly became busy.

An eastbound caravan arriving from Red Cliff reported seeing no further change to the damaged road that morning.

Two hunters returning east described empty beast territory farther north.

A merchant claimed there had been spiritual light near Red Cliff.

Wu Jian asked who had actually seen it.

The answer turned out to be nobody present.

That report did not make it onto the board.

Lin Yuan liked the association slightly more after that.

Unfortunately, the extra waiting traffic created another problem.

By midafternoon, Blackstone Inn was full.

Not long after, the last room in Wandering Cloud Tavern was taken.

Fang Yu appeared at the tavern entrance with her record book.

"Full."

"So are we."

"I have six groups waiting."

Lin Yuan looked toward the market ground.

Several merchants had already prepared to sleep beside their wagons.

That was normal for caravans, but Blackstone was filling much faster than it usually did outside gathering days.

"When are the westbound caravans leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning if nothing changes."

"And if it does?"

Fang Yu closed her book.

"They asked me the same thing."

"What did you tell them?"

"That I rent rooms."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Consistent."

"I try."

She returned to the inn.

Lin Yuan stayed outside.

The lack of rooms was inconvenient, but it was not the problem that held his attention.

His gaze moved toward the western edge of Central Blackstone.

During the day, the road remained visible for a long distance.

At night, everything disappeared beyond the lanterns.

The Ashfang Wolf had almost reached the settlement before anyone noticed it.

A few more rooms wouldn’t help with that.

Lin Yuan found Gao Rui beside the unfinished storage shed.

"Can I borrow one of your builders?"

Gao Rui immediately shook his head.

"No."

"I haven’t told you why."

"Still no."

"I’m paying him."

Gao Rui paused.

"What are you building?"

"A lookout platform."

That changed his expression.

He glanced west.

"Because of the wolf?"

"Partly."

"How tall?"

"High enough to see over the roofs."

"Permanent?"

"If it’s useful."

Gao Rui considered it.

"My roof comes first."

"Fine."

One of the builders nearby looked between them.

"I can mark the foundation before sunset."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"How much timber?"

"Not much for the frame. More if you want a proper platform and stairs."

"Mark it first."

The builder nodded.

Qiao appeared from somewhere behind them.

"Add a bell."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"A bell?"

"If whoever is watching sees something coming, ringing a bell is faster than running through Blackstone shouting."

Lin Yuan paused.

That was annoyingly sensible.

Gao Rui nodded.

"He’s right."

Qiao smiled.

Lin Yuan looked between them.

"I don’t like this."

"Being wrong?" Qiao asked.

"Both of you agreeing."

Gao Rui walked away.

Qiao’s smile widened.

"I can find you a bell."

"Of course you can."

"Good price."

"That part I doubt."

Before sunset, four wooden stakes had appeared near the western edge of Central Blackstone.

The builder had marked out the future lookout platform where it could see down the road without blocking wagon traffic.

Nothing had been built yet.

But the position was decided.

A few curious travelers stopped to look at the stakes.

One merchant asked Lin Yuan what they were for.

"Someone will watch the western road from there."

The merchant nodded.

"Good."

No joke.

No complaint.

Just good.

That response stayed with Lin Yuan longer than he expected.

Nearby, the Merchant Association route station remained busy.

Wu Jian questioned a newly arrived driver while marking something on a rough road map.

Several westbound merchants stood nearby listening.

Nobody was panicking or abandoning the road entirely. They were simply waiting, comparing information, and choosing when to move.

Lin Yuan stood outside Wandering Cloud Tavern and watched them.

When he had first opened the tavern, travelers stopped at Blackstone because they needed water and a meal.

Later, they stayed because there were rooms, shops, a market, and somewhere safer to rest.

Now they were stopping to ask whether they should continue west at all.

Su Mei stepped outside.

"You’re staring again."

"I’m thinking."

"More expensive dirt?"

"No."

"That’s disappointing."

Lin Yuan pointed toward the four stakes near the western road.

"Lookout platform."

"Because of last night?"

"I’d rather see the next wolf before it’s standing beside the inn."

She considered that.

"Reasonable."

"Qiao wants a bell."

"Also reasonable."

Lin Yuan looked at her.

"You too?"

Su Mei smiled and went back inside.

Apparently everyone had decided to be useful today.

Lin Yuan turned toward the association marker beside the road.

When Wandering Cloud Tavern first opened, travelers had stopped in Blackstone because they needed water.

Now they were stopping to learn whether it was safe to keep going.

Somewhere along the way, Blackstone had become more than a place to rest.

For travelers heading west, Blackstone had become the place to stop, listen, and decide whether to continue.